60. The s

The स् s. Of the three sibilants, or surd spirants, this is the one of plainest and least questioned character: it is the ordinary Europeans— a hiss expelled between the tongue and the roof of the mouth directly behind the upper front teeth.

a. It is, then, dental, as it is classed by all the Hindu authorities. Notwithstanding the great losses which it suffers in Sanskrit euphony; by conversion to the other sibilants, to r, to visarga, etc., it is still very high among the consonants in the order of frequency, or considerably more common than both the other two sibilants together.